Stop Telling Me To Smile

The sexualization behind telling women to smile is alarming. It makes women feel that we are only meant to be happy and pretty and it’s a passive way to engage into an unwanted conversation. Asking a woman to smile is a selfish act and it’s rarely in a caring tone; it’s condescending and it turns a simple gesture into something sexual. Instead of asking a woman how she actually feels or being open minded to the idea she might not be interested, there are men that will berate a woman into doing something that she isn’t comfortable doing. That is unacceptable.

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, the creator of StopTellingWomenToSmile.com created an entire art series of portraits and a street art project addressing gender based street harassment.